


things you said when we were the happiest we ever were

by pinkmanite2 (Pinkmanite)



Category: Cloud Atlas - All Media Types
Genre: Drabble, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 04:50:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14634489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinkmanite/pseuds/pinkmanite2
Summary: “I could stay here forever, I think."





	things you said when we were the happiest we ever were

**Author's Note:**

> hi this is crossposted on tumblr (baewhishaw), just moving things over to AO3 for safekeeping ♡

“Come on, Sixsmith, where’s your sense of adventure? You have plenty of life left to rot away in a lab, indulge me for once,” Robert grins mischievously. His hair is tousled in the familiar carefree mess of half-hearted styling. Rufus can’t help but match his smile. Maybe his friend is right. Or maybe Rufus just wants an excuse to just be with Robert. 

“Fine, but I’m not coming willingly,” Rufus’s light tone gives away his fib, “you’re kidnapping me.”

“Am not. You like it,” Robert tosses him his jacket and flings his trilby like a frisbee. Rufus barely manages to catch it, pouting as he puts it on. When he looks up, Robert is already halfway out the window.

“Don’t you dare leave me behind, Frobisher,” Rufus shouts after him. The only reply is a soft staccato of footfalls and a melismatic giggle. That cheeky little shit. 

“I’m not playing this game again,” Rufus grumbles more to himself than to Robert. The grounds of Caius College are well kept and neat, pompous shrubs styled into a decorative maze of grandiose figureheads. He stalks off in the direction he saw Robert go off in, his search rather desultory. 

Which is how Robert manages to jump out from a bush unnoticed, tackling Rufus to the ground. He laughs and laughs when Rufus startles and shouts. 

“You’re ruthless,” Rufus pouts, his breath evening and his annoyance fading into exasperated but unadulterated affection. He grins in his own wicked way before he rolls, flipping them. Robert yelps, leaves falling from his hair. Now it’s Rufus’s turn to laugh, picking out the remaining foliage from Robert’s messy waves. 

“And you’re absolutely breathtaking,” Robert exhales, their eyes meeting with an intoxicating connection. Rufus feels his heart beat faster and his stomach flip. Robert takes the moment to grasp the lapels of Rufus’s jacket, pulling his down. Rufus, ever the anxious, glances around quickly before he gives in.

The kiss is chaste and quick but they both feel something deeper resonating from it, threading them together in a perfect harmony.

Rufus falls to the side, ungracefully thumping directly next to Robert. He glances around yet again and decidedly pulls Robert into his arms, letting him rest his head on his chest. Rufus watches him rise and fall with his chest. Watches Robert gaze into the stars, defiantly drawing his own patterns into the sky. 

“I could stay here forever, I think,” Robert quietly admits, “I can’t stand this hellhole and I can’t stand that bastard Mackerras, but I’d stay here just for this.”

Rufus just hums his agreement, his hand lazily snaking its way to massage Robert’s head, fingers playfully entwining with the loose strands. 

“I’ve been with many people, you know. I could assemble a full orchestra with my infatuations,” Robert’s tone is still prideful, but there’s a vulnerable rawness to it that Rufus desperately latches onto, “but I think you’re the only one worthy of a solo.”

Rufus chuckles, his other hand fishing out one of Robert’s and squeezing it tightly.

“I do believe you’re the only person who’s ever been able to pull me from my research so willingly,” Rufus murmurs, thumb rubbing circles on Robert’s hand. Robert laughs, shuffling closer to Rufus, resting his ear over his heart. 

Robert sighs and closes his eyes, savoring the feeling of just being with Rufus. It’s a new feeling, something unfamiliar. Uncharted territory. It’s exhilarating and frightening all at once. For once, his groin isn’t controlling his thinking.

It’s his heart. 


End file.
